Hello guys and gals,
I recently received a Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar with matching case for my birthday. I was wondering if you guys recommend taking the strap off when I put it in its case? I have a leather strap and it kinda makes the case a little harder to close. It doesn't seem practical to remove it but it's a lot of leather to fit in a molded case.
Also, I had the strap come off yesterday and I just grabbed it in the nick of time before it hit the floor. My heart was racing to say the least. Does anyone have an opinion on locking strap buttons that would work well with this guitar.
Thanks and happy playing,
Lunarist
It's not a Gibson Les Paul, but I've got an Epi G400 and I leave the strap on. I'd say that if it's angling the guitar in such a way that the nut is making hard contact with the top of the case then I'd take the strap off, if however, it's just hitting the strings, if you don't mind having to retune then I wouldn't worry. That said, I'd be interested to know what the prevailing opinion is because the case for my G400 is awfully snug too.
I try not to put my guitars in the cases with the straps attached. But if i were to leave the straps on I would get a wall hanger or a stand of some sort and leave them out with the strap attached.
STRAP LOCKS!!!! You need them. I dropped my first Les Paul back around 1982. I got to look at that dent in the head stock for 8 years til I traded it on a new one. Les Pauls do not like to stay on straps. With the locks, it will be easy to pop that strap on and off too, so no, I wouldn't close it in the case. My general rule of thumb is to take them off for cases, but I will occasionally leave them attached if it is a gig bag.
Note:
If you do choose strap locks, you will find the bottom button screw of the Les Paul to be extra big and beefy. The screw that comes with the locks will be two small. I ground the head of an appropriate sized screw so it would fit down inside the strap lock. An alternate option would be to dowel the hole and use the screw that comes with the locks. As always, if your unsure, have a tech do it for you.
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grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
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